Manufactured peat fuel.



UNITED STATES OFFICE.

ROBERT A. KELLOND, OF WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO INTER-WEST PEAT FUEL COMPANY, OF WINNIPEG, CANADA, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA TERRITORY.

MANUFACTURED PEAT FUEL.

No. 836,324. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed April 1, 1905. Serial No. 253,367.

To all, whom it Trmy com/erm- Be it known that I, ROBERT ARTHUR KEL- LOND, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at the city of Winnipeg, in the Pro vince of Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Manufactured Peat Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of crude peat into solid form or into briquets to serve as fuel, and has for its principal objects economy in preparation of the raw material previous to compression, 'to render the blocks or briquets more effectually weather-proof in transportation and storage, and to impart to the constituent fiber such a degree of hardness that it will be slower of combustion and partake more of the nature of a radiant fuel than it is in its natural state, and to obviate the danger of spontaneous combustion while stored in large bulk in a bin or bunker, while not interfering with the effectual ignition of the volatile and carbonaceous matters contained Within the cells of the fiber.

To these ends my invention consists in a new article of manufacture produced by the saturation of finely-divided raw peat from which only the excess or superabundance of moisture has been removed with such a chemical solution or such a natural material after such peat shall have been solidified or briqueted as shall tend to harden the fiber, permeate the interstices, and set the block or briquet while the same is drying out.

Previous to describing my invention more particularly, so that it may be conveniently put into practice by those skilled in the art, I deem it advisable to confirm and embody herewith the following quotation from my previous patent, No. 713,110, dated Novem ber 11, 1902.

It is well known that the problem of drying the crude material taken from the peatbog down to anything approaching the degree of moisture existing in the surrounding atmosphere (usually from ten to fifteen per cent., by weight) is one of the most serious and difficult of attainment in all modern processes of peat-fuel manufacture, and the chief reason of failure to reach the market with this otherwise valuable fuel in'any commercial quantities has been the necessity of constant, expensive, and so far unsuccessful experiments along this line.

Complete air drying has proved impossible in America owing to the climatic conditions, and cold dry compression has been found impracticable unless the moisture is actually reduced to ten per cent. or less of the weight of raw material.

In carrying out my invention it must be premised that the excavated peat is preferably taken from a bog which has been well drained or that the material taken from a particularly wet bog has been spread upon a more or less dry area and allowed to drain or dry out under the influence of the sun and atmosphere until the superabundance of moisture has been eliminated, although this excess of water may be removed by centrifugal or other mechanical or electrical action either in the open or under co ver.

The raw material should now contain not more than, say, thirty-five to forty per cent. of moisture, and if any difliculty be found in reducing the Water content to this degree by the above method owing to inclement weather or other causes this work may be accomplished by subjecting the excavated material to artificial heat in any convenientlyarranged apparatus.

which will reduce it from a lumpy to a finelydivided condition, the sticks and roots being action when brought into solidified form.

Having been thus prepared and being at a moderate temperature, the peat is ready for solidification, this being effected. by any suitably disposed instrumentalities, of which many devices are known in the art and form no partof the improvement sought to be covered by this application.

will not deprive it of the necessary binding either first removed. or broken up and com- The blocks or briquets when formed are l directed in a continuously-moving column from the forming devices or may be conveyed by a carrier or other suitable means through a bath containing a solution of a chemical or chemicals or of such a liquefied. natural material as will saturate and so act upon the fiber of the peat exposed upon the surface and in any interstices or cracks to which it may find access as to harden and set the same when dry and at the same time render the block Weather-proof and, further, impart to the constituent fiber so saturated a certain fire-resisting quality which, while not preventin the easy ignition and effectual and. complete combustion of the fuel, will tend to retard. that too speedy consumption of the lighter fibers, which has proved a detriment to the lasting qualities of other forms of pressed peat fuel, and at the same time afford a more permanent body which may remain incand escentjfor a considerable time, and thus add the radiant feature to a fuel which under the old methods has had little more than the gaseous quality.

I may use any of the chemicals, such as alum, and combinations of carbonates therewith, which are now used for fireproofing fabl rics, and have found that a weak solution of soda-alum effectually answers the purpose,

but do not limit myself thereto, as I may use any other suitable natural or organic or inorganic material or materials liquefied or di luted without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

Suitable time being allowed for the blocks or briquets to contract, set, and dry, my new fuel may be then dumped into bins or bunkers or loaded upon cars as required, and 1 have found that under no circumstances regarding time or conditions will there be any danger of spontaneous combustion, owing to the partially-fireproofed nature of the material and to the absence of any appreciable quantity of dust by reason of the non-friable structure of the finished blocks or briquets.

that I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, a block or riquet of peat fuel composed of finely-divided raw peat-having a Water content exceeding that of the atmosphere, condensed by pressure, and a fiber-hardening medium applied thereto after formation, substantlally as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBT. A. KELLOND.

Witnesses:

ROY SWENY, C. F. SCHMIDT. 

